The challenge of income tax in Senegal

Taxes are a primary resource for the state to fund public services, infrastructure, and social policies. For 2025, taxes on salaries and other remunerations are projected to be approximately 842.5 billion FCFA, out of a total tax revenue of 4,000.00 billion FCFA, representing about 20.5% of all tax revenues and approximately 57.5% of direct taxes. This is largely due to the effective mechanism of withholding tax, where employers directly deduct tax from salaries before remitting it to the state, minimizing collection risk.

Formal sector employees, including 183,000 public servants in 2024 and 335,000 people employed by formal businesses outside public administration, are thus easily identifiable and regularly taxed contributors. A key question arises regarding the perceived return for taxpayers' contributions. While tax is an obligatory levy without direct, individualized compensation, citizens expect it to ensure accessible and quality public services in health, education, security, infrastructure, and housing.

Many salaried individuals, particularly in the private sector, feel that the tax burden, combined with other significant expenses like housing, schooling, and healthcare, does not adequately translate into sufficient public services. This leads to questions about whether public spending effectively transforms tax revenues into accessible collective assets a